The new Duchess of Cambridge, a childhood fan of Anne, asked to visit P.E.I. on the royal couple’s Canadian tour.

This house in Cavendish, P.E.I., inspiration for Anne of Green Gables, draws hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

By:Elizabeth HaggartyToronto Star, Published on Tue May 24 2011

The magic of the girl with the carrot-red hair apparently led the Duchess of Cambridge to make sure Prince Edward Island was one of the stops on her first trip to Canada this summer.

Prince William and his bride, the newest royal couple, will take a 10-day tour of Canada beginning June 30, and Kate insisted the setting for one her favourite books — Anne of Green Gables — was included, according to the Daily Mail.

“It is something of a sentimental journey,” a source told the paper. “The book was Kate’s favourite when she was growing up. The details of the Canadian tour are still being worked out but she requested that Prince Edward Island be on their itinerary so she could see the house and places mentioned in the book.”

The classic Lucy Maud Montgomery story about the adventures of the orphan Anne was published in 1908, and the main character has since become an iconic image for both the country and P.E.I. The setting for the book was inspired by a house in Cavendish, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Locals in the town are excited about a possible visit. “It’s good,” said Tim Cameron, owner of Meadow Lodge, about 45 minutes from the Anne of Green Gables Heritage site. “There are definitely no negatives involved in a visit.”

While Cameron doesn’t think he’ll have time to see the royal couple, he said he would try to catch a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

“It’s wonderful. It’s very exciting news,” an employee at Chez Yvonne’s restaurant in the town agreed. “I think it would be great for the area.”

P.E.I. has long been a stomping ground for royals touring Canada. In 1860, the then Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, kicked off the royal visits to the province with an August tour. The most recent royals to grace P.E.I.’s shores were the Earl and Countess of Wessex in 2000, who made it to Cavendish on Sophie’s first trip as a member of the Windsors.

The Queen has made the most trips to the island, chocking up four visits between 1939 and 1973.

Details of the Canadian trip have not yet been released, but it will also include stops in Quebec, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Ottawa.

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